I have it over in the Marketplace. It's quite nice. If no one wants it, I'm going to (possibly) bastardize it to make an amazing "Witco" Canoe.

Hey! don't break up a piece of art.
if you need a witco canoe,I've got a loose one kicking around the warehouse
somewhere. PM me you address and I'll send it to you.
_________________"Pets are welcome,Children 'MUST' be on leash" TD

Can anyone help me understand what the fabric is like on a Witco outrigger or similar wall hanging?

I just acquired one, probably overpaying a bit for my impatience. Regardless, it is currently backed with a light blue knit fabric that I am fairly confident isn't original. Since it's already been tweaked, I'd like to restore it to something that appears more original. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

There's are some bits of orange paint on the back, so I'm guessing the original would have had some type of painted woven fabric?

Off the top of my head, I'm considering recovering with something like a primed canvas then rolling on the appropriate color. Does that make sense, or is there a more appropriate fabric? What about the paint -- matte or gloss? I've looked online and reviewed Tiki Modern, but is there a place I can find a closeup of the fabric?

I realize I'm asking a lot of questions, but I appreciate any help or advice you can provide.

It's original. As a collector of vintage artifacts, I never mess with their authentic condition. The cheapness of Witco is part of its charm and genius. Note for example that the Viking shields are made from drawer pulls. If the backing is soiled and stained, I would just clean as best as possible. This is only my personal take on it, I have seen some Witco pieces integrated into Tiki environments quite well by having them fixed up. It's a matter of personal preference.

And: I always remind folks that just because it's Witco, it doesn't mean it's art, they made a lot of mundane stuff. Certainly not all Witco is Tiki.

On 2012-09-23 16:39, bigbrotiki wrote:It's original. As a collector of vintage artifacts, I never mess with their authentic condition. The cheapness of Witco is part of its charm and genius. Note for example that the Viking shields are made from drawer pulls. If the backing is soiled and stained, I would just clean as best as possible. This is only my personal take on it, I have seen some Witco pieces integrated into Tiki environments quite well by having them fixed up. It's a matter of personal preference.

And: I always remind folks that just because it's Witco, it doesn't mean it's art, they made a lot of mundane stuff. Certainly not all Witco is Tiki.

Thank you very much for your reply.
I will leave the particle board as is, but I am removing the paper (wallpaper?) that is covering the original yellow/green canvas. Its coming off fairly easy seems like it was applied with some sort of water based adhesive.

On 2012-09-23 16:39, bigbrotiki wrote:It's original. As a collector of vintage artifacts, I never mess with their authentic condition. The cheapness of Witco is part of its charm and genius. Note for example that the Viking shields are made from drawer pulls. If the backing is soiled and stained, I would just clean as best as possible. This is only my personal take on it, I have seen some Witco pieces integrated into Tiki environments quite well by having them fixed up. It's a matter of personal preference.

And: I always remind folks that just because it's Witco, it doesn't mean it's art, they made a lot of mundane stuff. Certainly not all Witco is Tiki.

On 2012-09-22 15:47, Dagg wrote:a buddy gave me this about 20 years ago, its been sitting in my basement collecting dust. Almost threw it out a few times! I had no idea what it was until found this site.